California reinstates net neutrality

According to CNBC, on September 30th, California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation that would restore open internet protections or “net neutrality” in his state. These laws were repealed federally in December 2017.

By doing this, California is clashing with the decision of the Federal Communications Commission. Before the bill was passed, FCC chairman Ajit Pai made a speech calling the legislation “a radical, anti-consumer internet regulation bill that would impose restrictions even more burdensome than those adopted by the FCC in 2015.”

On the other hand, Gigi Sohn a former senior aide to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, told CNBC the California law “is now the model for all future state and federal legislation … this is what internet users across the political spectrum have said they want by overwhelming majorities.”

Needless to say, opinions are torn over whether California made the right choice.

Without net neutrality, says CNBC, ISPs have “sweeping new powers to recast how Americans use the internet, as long as they disclose changes.” However, since the new rules came into federal effect in June, providers have not made changes in access.